Today's other stories in brief
Connemara finds zinc in Co Kerry
AIM-listed exploration company Connemara Mining says it has found zinc near Castlemaine in Co Kerry.
The area is close to the historic Meanus/Annagh silver and lead mine operated in the 18th century. Samples from the Castlemaine licence block contained 51.43 per cent zinc, the company said.
Chairman John Teeling said: “Mining lore has it that the best place to find a mine is where there was a mine. So it is with Castlemaine.”
Bord Gáis chairman to retire
Bord Gáis chairman Ed O’Connell has announced his retirement after almost eight years in the role. He will step down after the company’s board meeting on June 30th.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan thanked him for his years of service with the company.
The role of chairman is a ministerial appointment.
Three firms in race for Opel
The pursuit of German carmaker Opel has narrowed to a three-way race between Italy’s Fiat, Canadian-Austrian carparts group Magna and investment firm RHJ International.
In North America, bankrupt Chrysler won court approval for financing and other requests to help move it quickly through a sale to a group led by Fiat, and also named a chairman for the merged company.
Meanwhile, GM Canada planned to tell dealerships which of the country’s roughly 700 dealers are likely to close under a plan to slash the network by about 42 per cent.
Citigroup to cut technology costs
Citigroup is ramping up efforts to slash its huge technology costs, with the bank’s management believing it can save significantly more than $1 billion (€724 million) in 2009 by integrating hundreds of systems that have been separate for years.
The move underlines a shift in strategy being championed by Vikram Pandit, chief executive, in order to rebuild a company that has suffered billions of dollars in losses and has been repeatedly bailed out by the government.
Mr Pandit is striving to shrink the troubled bank's balance sheet and create a more cohesive company out of businesses that have not been fully integrated since the 1998 merger between John Reed's Citicorp and Sandy Weill's Travelers. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)
FG Wilson announces job cuts plan
FG Wilson, one of the North’s largest employers, has issued a warning to staff that it plans to implement temporary layoffs on June 1st, writes Francess McDonnell.
The US-owned business, which is part of Caterpillar’s Electric Power division, has not disclosed how many employees could be affected by the move.
In a statement, the company said it planned to implement temporary layoffs to protect jobs in the long term.
Meanwhile, Dublin-based software development firm Softedge Systems has established a new centre of excellence in Newry which will create 15 jobs.
